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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.